Notes / Commercial Description:
2010 and pre: white label
2011: white label OR black label with black no logo cap
2012: black label with logo cap
2013: black label with logo cap, ABV of 11% in the top right corner and new government warning
2014 - white label with black logo cap, ABV of 11% in the top right corner, government warning on bottom right side of label

Reviews by imperialbigswig:

Ok this is in my top 5 favorite RISs, probably my number 2, maybe even one if I could get my hands on more of them!!!
A- Jet black motor oil, head leaves in a hurry.
S- Dark chocolates and notes of coffee.
T- GTFOOH!!! Just so rich and bitterly chocolate.
M- thick, heavy dry and chewy, now that's what I want in an Imperial Stout!!
D- Hard drink more than one, just cuz they're so hard to find and such a heavy stout. But low drinkability is a hallmark of a great RIS!!
SIP on this one long and steady, if you can find it.

A good Russian Imperial Stout that somehow keeps me wanting more. Maybe it's because Plead has a balanced and mellow take on the style (Similar to Blackout) or becuase the gravities aren't quite insane as I expected. It's kinda like a big Oatmeal Stout with the creamy texture, slickness, and weight. Lightly carbonated, the beer falls still fairly quickly and doesn't lift off of the tongue the way I like. A balanced roastiness never prefers the char or the toffee malts. Milk flavors and sweetness round out the herbal hops, sharp roasted grains, and alcohols. Still, the coffee, chocolate, anise, blackberries, plubs, grapes and dates are bold and varying and have come together very well. Nice disguise of the abv. With all the compliments, I still want more...

I received this lovely 12ounce bottle of Plead the 5th in a great trade for the Dark Horse stout series a couple months back. I have made my way through most of those, but last night I wanted to really give this one a try. Service at cellar temperature I poured it into a UK pint glass.

Appearance - I poured it very forcefully and was able to muster up about a half inch or so of tan and chocolate colored head off of this one, which quickly faded and left behind only a small crown of lace and some decent side glass presentation. The color was very nice, a rich dark brown, nearly black, save for a few glimpses on the corners. Overall though nice look and presentation to this one, albeit a little slim on the head.

Smell - The aroma was rich with dark chocolate, amazingly sweet smelling it really had a nice depth to it. Some hints of vanilla at first, and they really came up towards the end when it started to warm. Some slight touches of woody aromas coming off of it and a touch of caramel and coffee, but this was one sweet smelling stout for sure.

Taste - The flavor was very nice, and absolutely full of chocolate flavored malts. It was a deep, sweet chocolate flavor that was dominating this one. Rich and sweet, like Hershey's syrup, this was coming across very nice. Deep rich molasses like sugar flavors now coming into play, and this was turning out to be one of the sweetest stouts I have had in a good long while. Not sure what the percentage was here, but there was virtually no alcohol present in this one. Really just remarkably well done. Long lingering flavor of rich dark chocolate and the perfect sweet coffee flavor just made me want to rush back in for another sip.

Mouthfeel - Very rich and creamy with a nice amount of carbonation, which to be honest surprised me due to the lack of carbonation of the pour. Nice full bodied feel with a great texture going down, pretty much classic for a big stout.

Drinkability - Outstanding ability to put this one down. Just ridiculously smooth and a great amount of flavor in this one. No detectable amount of alcohol, just a super smooth delivery with a great flavor and good carbonation. Could have sipped it all night.

Overall I thought this one was really great. A solid imperial stout that hid the alcohol very well and leaned heavily toward the side of chocolate with the flavor. Quite solid in both appearance and profile, this is one I would love to go back to and try again. Definitely very good.

A- Great pour, about an inch of head with nice lacing. Thick and black.
S- Heavy cocoa and coffee, strong and mouth watering.
T- Wonderful balance of flavors dancing together. creamy and filling. Smokey, chocolate, wholesome.
M- I could almost chew it. Perfect texture for a RIS. Taste improved as the temperature dropped.
O- Just what I want from a RIS. I highly recommend this. This beer behaves like a RIS and with a 11% ABV will leave you feeling good.

T - A gulp of malty goodness, dry bakers chocolate, coffee and a hint of dark fruit on the tail.

F- Nailed it, dark, chewy and amazingly thick.

O - a ballin stout, but not perfect. A bit of complexity and some creaminess would make it perfect.I think the dry vibe is fairly unique as imperial stouts tend to skew sweet for better or worse. I can't wait to try the oak aged version.

100 rating beer for sure. Just try it and tell me this is not good... Aroma of coffee, chocolate, brown sugar, malt, caramel, toffee, vanilla & some fruit, biscuit and nuttiness. The taste of vanilla/chocolate cream note that lingers well into the mid palate, which begins to show more of a spice character - again clove & cinnamon, along with nutmeg & black pepper. Overall this is an awesome stout. Thick, flavorful and fulfilling.

After the disappearance of the fairly dark head into a barely noticeable collar around the glass, everything looks pretty still. The body is pitch brown. Fine, transparent legs. I like the distinct aromas of medium/heavy roasted malts, sweetness, and vanilla. I can also faintly smell some lactose, alcohol and coconut. In the taste, the sweetness comes out as the beer warms. The smell is misleading. I get distinct roast over vanilla. Nice, easy going soft roast, intertwined with delicate sweetness. No alcohol, not even through the exhaust. No complaints about the feel. Low carb, medium-heavy body. Nice soft finish.

Overall - This RIS is solid. No criticisms here. To put things into comparison, I think Ten Fidy is more robust, but this one is more balanced and friendly.

Taste: upfront there's an initial sweetness raisin bakers chocolate transitions in the middle of the mouth to a big Smokey presence pipe tobacco smoked meat Umami. Im the finish you get a vanilla type sweetness and some expresso bitterness.

Feel: medium to full body creamy soft dry in the finish the expresso biterness lingers in the aftertaste.

Overall: bottled 11/11/15 more smokiness a very complex smokey flavor less sweet big expresso note in the finish just enough sweetness there to keep the smoke and biterness in line I think this beer is better with some age on it. But fresh it's really good too.

A thick creamy mocha head bubbles up bringing cinnamon, dates, cherry tobacco along with it. It fades quickly but works heavily coating the outside of my tulip after a swirl. The color is black as pitch no highlight's to this one. A hint of clover, and gamey undertones in the dark fruit of the nose. The flavor rolls gently, powerfully capturing my full attention as it goes from cocoa roast malts, to frothy coffee, with undertones of leather and roast goose. It all finishes with a dominant mouthfeel and lingering biterness that reminds us not to say too much.

In my 2nd decade with stouts as my favorite style, I was not expecting to be impressed by this. Perhaps the bottle of 1 I had was bad... However, I can't say enough about the creamy roasty mouthfeel, the depth of flavor, or the character of this beer. I'll be buying more tomorrow.

Pours a viscous opaque shiny black with a thin mocha head. Head dissipated down to a think film that stuck around throughout.

Smell had aromas of cocoa, milk chocolate, and roasted malts tinged by a light smoky char. Undertones of slight nuttiness and some espresso tones. Very rich and decadent aromas. This smell lets you know this is a rich beer.

Taste follows the nose with notes of cocoa, milk chocolate and a nuttiness (not sure which nut, but more like an almond) that is very pleasant. Rich roasted malt backbone gives way to a slightly bitter cocoa finish. Vey chocolatey in nature, but supremely tasty.

Feel was thick and velvety but not overly hefty. Its still very drinkable and in spite of the high ABV is not at all overwhelming.

Had this on-tap at Sheffield's for the Dark Side of Oz event. Served in a half-pint glass.

A - A half finger of dark mocha foam with good retention and lacing. Tar black with no hints of color at the edges (although it was pretty dark in the bar, so I could be wrong).

S - Roasty bitterness, boozy. This brew had a surprisingly small bouquet, even after I let it warm up a bit. It just did not smell all that interesting.

T - The taste is huge - loads of roast malts, dark fruits, and chocolate. Nowhere near as bitter as it smelled, although there is a mounting bitterness in the aftertaste. The half-pint serving kept it from getting to be too much. Not boozy in the slightest.

M - Medium body, lighter than I expected. Low carbonation, with lots of residual stickiness. It needs a little more viscosity to support such an otherwise big beer.

D - Surprisingly drinkable for a 12% brew. I can see the bitterness getting a little overwhelming, but otherwise it's pretty easy going - low carbonation and well-hidden ABV.

very very dark pour and has a slick looking head that doesn't last. the aromas are of chocolate and nutty, slightly roasted notes. The flavor is also complex with nuts, chocolate, with a medium mouthful and slight bitterness and low in carbonation. good beer overall.

Unbelievably this is the first time I have had this beer...crazy.Pours jet black like an oil slich with a thinner beige head atop,like thick crude.Chocolate and black licorice in the nose along roast and sweet alcohol.Heavy roast and earthiness intertwined with alcohol dipped dark druit and deep molasses sweetness with that black licorice coming into play as well,whoo this big and complex.Big and chewey this is a sipper that Iam drinking at 6:00,it could be an early bedtime tonigh because I have three more to drink.

Pours dark as fuck and thick as shit - is that an accurate description of the appearance? It looks like molasses as it dribbles out of the bottle, pouring will nearly no sound as it collapses into the glass. No head forms at first, even with a direct pour down the middle, until moments after I'm finished pouring and a dark tan film rises from nowhere and puts a skin on the brew.

Aroma comes through full-force with insanely deep roasted coffee; charred espresso and dark, bitter cocoa beans. This is a heavy hitter, alright, and the nose doesn't hold anything back. There is a creaminess to it, carrying over a very light sweetness. But make no mistake - if the initial aroma is any indication, the sheer roasted bitterness of this brew will tower over all else. Some more dark fudge aromas open up as the beer warms, but it remains a deep, black, and bitter type of fudge, still laying low on the sweetness. Surprisingly low alcohol character for being 11-12% ABV, but there is a noticeable warmth to back everything up.

The taste, shockingly enough, opens up with a very light, licorice-like sweetness before converging into the roasted carnage. Bitter-ass roasted coffee beans, and huge charcoal notes take over like none other. This beefy stout plays off of a heavy hop character as well, something else I really enjoy; leafy, ashy, herbal, and spicy. The bitterness from the hops and the bitterness from the roast combine to form a super bitterness that may even be stronger than all of the sweetness from the malt.

Light chocolates and sinister dark fruits play the counterbalancing sweetness role, although they don't stand a chance again the roasted bomb. There is a heavy fade of char, roast, burnt coffee, and nuttiness going into the aftertaste. Overall, the alcohol warms up a bit and gives this baby a fuckin' huge backbone - very robust; it demands that it be sipped slowly rather than slammed in a few seconds. This beer is big.... no, HUGE, on the palate, and creamy all the way through. Super low carbonation, but it almost works, here.

Seriously a badass stout; orgasmically powerful roast from nearly start to finish with a heavy and hard-hitting bitterness through and through. I love stouts like this. For the high ABV, it drinks pretty well. I'm biased towards bitter stouts, so this one was right in my wheelhouse. Simply delicious.